Bent
We’ve seen some version of the nail
curled over, the head angled at 90 degrees
or parallel to its body, just above
the penetration point. Three years ago
a tornado powered a single straw stem
through the oak’s bark and into its trunk,
illustrating the Old English beonet, for
“stiff grass,” and sadly conjuring the image
of a blade affixed to a firearm’s muzzle, the
etymology of which lies elsewhere, in Gascony.
And when we consider mental inclination,
signifying deflected, turned, or not straight,
we might also include an earlier past participle
meaning “directed in course.” But even the
tree’s armor could not deter the twister’s
wrath, and the hammer, no matter my aim
or purpose, seems intent upon glancing off
the nail, twisting it, leaving us, again, bent.
“Bent” first appeared in the print publication Ristau: A Journal of Being in January 2018.
O at the Edges 
Kismet. I have just such a specimen in the hardwood floor near my stairs–and it hurts:). Your post is a timely reminder to fix. You’ve inspired me today much more literally than usual:).
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Ouch! Thank you for reading!
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This is something to savour. Writing poems about etymology while making them exciting is true art.
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Etymology often creeps into my poems, especially when I have no idea what I’m writing about. 🙂
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I enjoy the origin of words very much. Especially Old English is interesting to me, because it is often times closer to my native tongue (German) than to modern English. Unfortunately I only had one seminar at uni, but I loved the words and their sounds, like “wolcen” or “lyft”.
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Etymology is a source of endless fascination for me.
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I like this poem very much! It’s creatively complex. So many iideas springing from — and returning to — something very identifiable: a bent nail. Very nice.
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The poem was drafted during the August 2015 Tupelo Press 30/30. The sponsor of the poem provided the title, and not knowing which direction to take, I decided to look at its etymology, which provided the poem’s spark.
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Love this poem! It’s the sort of poem we’d love to publish in issue 3 of Foxtrot Uniform. Email us if you’re interested foxtrotuniformpoetry@gmail.com
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Thanks very much. I’ll see what I have available.
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